Hatya: The Slaughter of the Sleeping

Dhrishtadyumna and sons die

Five boys slept in a tent at the edge of victory. They had survived the entire war, protected, kept from battle, treasured as the future of the Pandava line. They were Prativindhya, Sutasoma, Shrutakarma, Shatanika, and Shrutasena, the Upapandavas, sons of Draupadi. When Ashwatthama found them, they never woke. And when the Pandavas returned at dawn, they found not a camp but a graveyard.

The Tent of the Princes

In the chaos of the night attack, Ashwatthama moved with terrible purpose.

He had killed Dhrishtadyumna. He had killed Shikhandi. He had killed commanders and soldiers by the score. But there was one target that mattered above all others, one that would ensure his revenge was complete.

The sons of the Pandavas must die.

He found the tent near the center of the camp, a larger structure, better appointed, clearly meant for royalty. The guards who should have protected it lay dead at their posts, killed by Kritavarma and Kripacharya as they secured the perimeter.

Ashwatthama pushed aside the tent flap and stepped inside.

Five beds. Five figures. Five young princes, sleeping the deep sleep of those who believed themselves safe.

They were barely more than boys, the eldest perhaps sixteen, the youngest no more than twelve. They had been kept from the main fighting, protected as the future of the dynasty. They had watched the war from a distance, waiting for the day when they would be old enough to take their places as warriors and kings.

That day would never come.

The Names of the Dead

Let their names be remembered:

These were not warriors who had slain Drona. They had never raised weapons against anyone. They were children, children who happened to be born to men Ashwatthama had sworn to destroy.

In the darkness of the tent, Ashwatthama did not hesitate.